


Get your weapons ready for tonight is our battle

by Madalena



Series: We Built a Dynasty Like Nothing Ever Made [8]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: A New Beginning, All of the Blackthorns plus Emma, Alliance Rune (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Lake Lyn, M/M, Minor Character Death, Rebellion Against The Clave, Secret Deals, Seelie Court
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-03-19 16:25:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13708206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madalena/pseuds/Madalena
Summary: With the Clave distracted by the unofficial secession of the New York Institute, Alec and Magnus prepare their forces to move on Valentine for once and for all. But even though a number of Institutes the world over and most of the Downworld have pledged themselves to the fight, there's still one wild card that could tip the scales in either direction.And so Alec must go to the one place he'd promised himself he'd never go - the Seelie Court, the seat of the Seelie Queen's power and the forces that could spell victory or doom for the rest of the Shadow World in the final battle against Valentine.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "Our Weapons" by DM Galaxy feat. Q’AILA.
> 
> So, here we are - we have arrived at the final story in this series! But don't worry, as I've mentioned before, I love this canon-divergent 'verse too much to let it go, so there will be a sequel set in this same 'verse. But shhh, I can't talk about it too much yet, it'll give away too much of this story ;)

Deepali’s group was only the first. New groups of Shadowhunters began to arrive in New York daily. Over the course of a week, about thirty mostly young Shadowhunters had arrived to declare their fealty to him. Some were ferreted out as Clave spies or spies for Valentine, but the majority were genuine and had heard the rumours that followed Alec’s actions over the past months, and they came to join him.

Once the old Shadowhunters found they had been locked out of the New York Institute, the cavalry from Idris began to arrive on the lawn, demanding answers from the people within. However, this was mostly limited to low-level Clave officials, since all high-level officials, such as the Inquisitor, were mysteriously prevented from leaving Idris.

Alec hadn’t heard from his father. He wasn’t sure anymore if he wanted to. He had made his choice.

Magnus, Catarina, Alec and Clary worked together to create a Portal room within the New York Institute, so that they could depart on patrols without having to deal with the Idris Inquisition outside. Clary created a new rune that could be attuned to a Portal, and if that same rune was drawn on a Shadowhunter, they simply needed to activate it to be able to access a Portal to the Institute. As an extra precaution, in case a patrol was ambushed by any Clave officials wandering the streets of New York, the Portal Room was similarly warded to the outside of the Institute, so that new arrivals could not come through to the rest of the Institute without approval.

Despite sporadic attacks by the Circle, no one had seen Valentine since his disappearance through the Portal from the Institute’s basement. While Duncan’s dead body had been found, and it had been clear that Valentine and Jonathan had been living and working together for a time, after Jonathan was removed from the picture, no further evidence of Valentine existed, even when Isabelle took them to the apartment that he’d been using - all they found there was the real Sebastian’s dead body, which at least provided closure to a sobbing Aline.

But now - there was silence. And it made Alec anxious.

Even demon attacks within the city had slowed down. Patrols still encountered demons, as usual, but rates were down, and Alec wasn’t certain if that was because there was less demon activity, or if the Clave had patrols out as well. But from what he could see on their operating equipment - which had now been cut off from the Clave, though the technicians had been able to save files locally before disconnecting from the Clave’s network - there simply… weren’t demons.

That was even more worrying. It was as if they were waiting for something. Alec was sure that Valentine had something to do with it, but while the Circle remained, he was out of sight.

He had to be hiding somewhere. Alec wondered if there was some different way to track him, some way… something that would tell them if Valentine was still in New York, or if he was in Idris, or somewhere completely different.

There was a knock on his office door, and Alec looked up in time to see Magnus pop his head around the corner. His face broke into a smile.

“Magnus.” Alec said, getting to his feet to meet him. He drew Magnus into his arms, kissing him softly. “What’s up?”

“Just coming by to make sure you’re eating.”

“I… had a granola bar a few hours ago?”

Magnus tsked. “You really have no excuse now. You can have the best food in the world, Alexander, with just a flick of the wrist.”

“My conjuring isn’t up to that standard yet. Plus it strikes me as somewhat too selfish.”

“But you have me.” Magnus pressed his lips to Alec’s cheek. “Let me demonstrate.”

Magnus waved his hand, and a steak dinner appeared on Alec’s desk, and a second on the other side of it. “See? Dinner for two, and you can still be doing your work.”

Alec sighed. “Only because you’re here with me.”

“Any sign of Valentine?” Magnus asked, stepping back to encourage Alec to sit down and eat his meal.

“No. And it has been three days since the last Circle attack. Even the Idris delegation has gotten smaller outside. Last check they’ve had three warlocks come through to try and break through the wards, but all of them have said the same thing, according to our listening devices - there’s something there that they can’t identify, that isn’t part of ward structures that they’re familiar with. One reported it as a gold and white colour, the others just mentioned gold. Which means that everyone is claiming it just to be me.” Alec popped a bite of steak into his mouth and sighed happily.

“So they have no sign that any others have awakened angel powers?”

“Nope. Some have suggested that maybe Clary added in a few new runes, but the warlocks have been adamant that there are no runes in the ward structure. So they’re perplexed.”

“No mentions of taking it to the Silent Brothers?”

“There have been. Everything they’ve heard back is that the Silent Brothers cannot provide a solution to a warlock’s failed magic, and recommend calling on a stronger warlock. So it would appear that they are stonewalling the Clave on our behalf, but not saying it.”

“None of the High Council will assist them, that much is clear. And most others won’t either. So they’re left with very few options. Unless one of ours betrays us to them. And I do have my doubts about that Vyacheslav guy. But I do think even if he doesn’t like me, he is loyal to the rest of the Council and wouldn’t sell us out to the Clave or Valentine.”

Alec snapped his fingers, and a privacy ward encapsulated them in their own little world, a skill that Alec had been getting quite good at. It was his most used magic - outside of healing - and they’d already put it to the test in a number of different ways, making sure that it was as airtight as it could be, for moments like this he wanted to discuss something particularly sensitive.

“Let’s hope so.” Alec said. “He worked on the warding of Lake Lyn. Even if he does turn, that won’t damage the binding, will it?”

“No. We created it, but we can’t undo it, not that easily anyway. It would take a lot more firepower - and of a kind that we haven’t seen - to even make a dent in that.”

“I’m sure it won’t stop Valentine from trying though.” 

“It won’t.”

“Do you have any ideas on what Valentine could use to undo the binding? Nothing is completely foolproof, I’m sure of it.”

“You’re right. There are always methods that he could try. How successful they would be, I don’t know. A number would require the assistance of the Seelies. Which, well… if the Queen wanted to gamble on Valentine’s precise wording of his request to the Angel, that he would only destroy Downworlders in this realm, she might be all right a realm away. And from what the Inquisitor and her guard said, the Queen does appear to be taking that gamble.”

“Could, if asked, the Angel destroy Seelies in their realm?”

“I would imagine so. Angels and Greater Demons - that is, fallen angels - are beings of immense power who can create or break down worlds at their leisure. The question of just another dimension wouldn’t pose any issue to the Angel if he were called to destroy all Downworlders everywhere. But then there’s… hmmm.” Magnus paused, deep in thought.

“What is it?”

“Then there’s the question of whether the Fair Folk are Downworlders at all.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know the legends. That the Fair Folk - be they Seelie or Unseelie - are half angel, half demon. Which would mean that they aren’t part human. Not like the rest of us.”

“Which could be just the type of loophole that the Seelie Queen could be counting on. If she tells Valentine that the destruction of Downworlders isn’t her concern.” Alec said, meeting Magnus’ eyes.

“Exactly. She’s an even better manipulator than Valentine himself. I don’t doubt that she’s already several steps ahead of him in whatever she’s planning.”

Alec bit his lip, thinking. “I have to go to the Seelie Court.”

“Alexander…”

“No. I know what you’re going to say. I don’t like it either. But I think she might listen to me. I have something she wants. At least, I think I do. She’s fascinated with how I became what I am. I can use that.”

“Are you sure?”

“No. I’m not sure of anything. There’s also the chance that I could walk in there and be ambushed by Valentine. But maybe if I send her a particularly worded request with specific guarantees, then she’ll abide by it. If she wants to know more.”

“Alexander… are you sure you want to tell her more about how you became what you are?”

“No. But if it can prevent Valentine from gaining access to the Lake…”

“Let’s look at the other ways Valentine could get through first. Figure out if there’s a way that we can cut them off.”

“I’d feel much better if we could just find Valentine now. Draw him out somehow. Then we don’t need to worry about this whole mess.”

“I hate to say it, but… the Lake may be the only way to draw him out. Because we need not only him, but the Cup and the Sword back. Otherwise will be fighting an attrition battle with his followers until we do get them back.”

Alec grimaced. “I think you may be right. So what do we do? Mount up and head to Lake Lyn to draw him out? And hope that we’re not fighting a battle with the Clave and Valentine at the same time?”

“Sometimes the element of surprise is the best one. Valentine might think that Shadowhunters are still looking for the Mortal Mirror. And in the case of the Clave, they are. Valentine might know something is up with Lake Lyn, given that there are still spies within the Clave.”

A knock clattered on the door, and Helen poked her head in. Alec dropped the privacy ward.

“Helen, what is it?”

“I just got a fire-message from my father. He wants to have an official meeting with you, Alec.”

“Official, as in…”

“He knows how you’ve been shut out from the Clave, and even if you haven’t officially made any sorts of declarations, that you’re functioning independently of them. He wants to meet with you to see how he can join you.”

Magnus squeezed Alec’s hand. “Take the meeting. Know who your allies are. If we have enough of them, then we can discount the Clave part of the equation, and just worry about Valentine instead.”

“Yeah. Okay. Here or there?”

“He’d probably like to see how things are going here. See that you can work independent from the Clave and still get the job done.”

“All right.” Alec twisted his hand, a Portal appearing in front of them. He’d been practicing, and getting better at it. He stood, giving Magnus a kiss. “Be back in a few?”

“Sure. You want me here for the meeting?”

“Always. We’ll have to come in through the Portal Room. Meet us there?”

Magnus nodded, squeezing Alec’s hand again. Alec ran a thumb over the back of Magnus’ hand before he withdrew his, grabbing Helen’s hand and following her through the Portal, which -

\- landed them on the front lawn of the Los Angeles Institute. Alec blinked in the bright sunlight, looking out at the clear blue sky, something he hadn’t seen much of in New York in recent days, as if the gloom of their reality was settling over the weather. But the sun had no fear of showing its face here in Los Angeles, and Alec closed his eyes for a moment, letting the warmth sink into his skin.

He opened his eyes, and saw that Helen was doing the same thing. He chuckled. Helen opened her eyes, smiling sheepishly.

“I’ve been in New York for awhile. But every time I see this sun, I know this is my home.”

“Hey, no judgment from me. So where to?”

Helen pointed up the winding path to the Institute, which was sprawling and set on the outskirts of Los Angeles, a completely different environment to the compact and busy streets of Manhattan. “Come on. My dad will be waiting for us, and I think my siblings will be excited to meet you.”

“Can’t wait.”

Alec had to jog a bit to keep up with Helen, who was evidently excited to see her family after not seeing them recently, save for briefly when she and Magnus had gone to Los Angeles to collect Mark. By the time he made it to the steps, Helen already had the door open and was waving him inside.

The entryway was an explosion of people and Alec was taken aback, but Helen welcomed them all warmly. Sensing his discomfort, however, she took his hand and pulled him through the crowd of kids and teenagers to a taller man around his parents’ age.

“Alec, this is my father, Andrew Blackthorn, head of the Los Angeles Institute. I’ll let you talk while I catch up with my siblings.”

“Alec, nice to meet you.” Andrew said, reaching out a hand. Alec shook it. “Come with me to my office? We can talk there for a bit, and then I’d like to come see what you’ve got going in New York.”

Alec nodded stiffly, pressing his fingers to Magnus’ rune, trying to communicate to him that they were going to be a bit longer than anticipated. He didn’t know quite yet if that rune would function the same as such a connection did with Jace, but when he felt relief and support flooding back through it, his fingertips becoming a comfortable warm, he relaxed and followed Andrew to his office.

There were two other Shadowhunters waiting there as they entered the room, both rising to their feet as Andrew and Alec came in.

“These are Cordelia and John Carstairs, my closest advisors. Cordelia, John, this is Alexander Lightwood, head of the New York Institute.”

Cordelia looked at Alec’s golden runes with interest, shaking his hand firmly. John disguised his interest a bit more, also shaking his hand.

“Pleasure.” Alec said. “Now, what did you want to discuss? Helen tells me that on the topic of the Clave…”

“Yes, the Clave.” Andrew said, nodding and resting back against his desk, clearly avoiding the power position that sitting behind the desk would create. “We still have news from the Clave here. But we hear that you don’t, and that you’d been shut out from Clave communications even before you made any active attempt to distance yourselves from them.”

“That’s true. We want our focus to be on defeating Valentine, and yet the Clave seems more interested in me than him at the moment.”

“It is a common sentiment. What you’ve done no Shadowhunter has done before. But while the Clave finds this threatening, I consider it an opportunity.”

“An opportunity?”

“Valentine threatens us all. Most of all, my half-Seelie son and daughter. When I think about what Valentine could do to them, with the Soul Sword or by summoning the Angel… the Clave has been remiss in dealing with him. I don’t want to entrust my children’s safety to such an organization that won’t even condemn any hate that my children receive. We don’t have any of that here, any Shadowhunter who comes in here with slurs of any kind is dealt with harshly and sent back to Idris. I’m sure by now Helen or Mark have told you our family motto?”

“Lex malla, lex nulla. A bad Law is no Law.”

“Precisely. The Clave has bad Laws. Here as a far outpost of the Clave, we’ve mostly been able to ignore them with little consequence, so thus there hasn’t been a need to make a move to oppose them thus far. But now there is. So on behalf of the Los Angeles Institute, in my position as head, I want to make a formal request to join your Institute in whatever new organization you form.”

“You know we haven’t formally seceded from the Clave.”

“I do. And I know that would be a delicate operation in the best of times. Which is why I thought it best to show support now, and let you know that there are other potential allied Institutes, all over the world. You’re not alone in New York. You have many allies who are looking for someone new to lead them besides the Clave.”

“Yeah, we’ve been having a number of people arriving in New York recently.”

“I imagine you would be, young people from different Institutes around the world. But the ones from Institutes like ours, they wouldn’t feel a need to run from their own circumstances. They’ll be pressing their leadership to talk to you as well.”

“Is that to say that you’ve had people talk to you, to have you talk to me?”

Andrew began pacing the room in slow measured strides. “To a point, yes. I’ve had… how many has it been, Cordelia?”

“Nine.”

“Nine Institute heads talked to me. Nine Institutes in other places around the world where Shadowhunters have close relationships with their local Downworlds. Who don’t like the way the Clave has been acting, their new movements against Downworlders. But for a long time, we each believed ourselves to be alone, unique among Institutes.”

“What changed? How do you know about each other now?”

Andrew’s lips quirked up in a smile. “We actually have the Clave to thank for that. In the last meeting I attended - I believe Helen may have mentioned that one, since I came back angry from it while she was here with Magnus - the Clave issued a list of ten Institutes, including Los Angeles, that needed to clean up their acts and enforce proper separation of Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Those Institutes left the Clave meeting as well. And we’ve been in regular communication ever since.”

“Which Institutes are these?”

“Mexico City. Carlisle. Umea. Riga. Sihanoukville. La Paz. Port au Prince. Busan. Dar es Salaam.”**

“So are you speaking to me on behalf of all of them, are just on behalf of yourself?”

“Just ourselves. Though they’ll be wanting to know how my meeting with you went.”

Alec nodded sharply. “Fair enough. So what do you want to know?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Some may wonder about this selection of cities. Some of them are randomly chosen by me, but some are ones that Cassie Clare has said have Shadowhunter families that are on good terms with local Downworlders.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec makes an agreement with the Los Angeles Institute, and the Clave learns about the special powers that live within the New York Institute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A reminder:** Since the show has aged up the New York characters, that means the other characters in the Shadowhunters ‘verse have also been aged up, including all of the Blackthorns and Emma. If you read the Dark Artifices, for the purposes of this ‘verse, you can assume that the characters are about a year or so younger than they are in that series (though of course a number of plot details change, since the show is only up to the end of book three of The Mortal Instruments and taking a vastly different course in this fic from established canon, thus the plot of Dark Artifices does not happen here).

“There are so many different things we’d like to know, but we’ll stick to the basics right now.” Andrew said. “And ignore the obvious, since I’m sure you’re probably sick of explaining it. I’ll just state what we know, and if it is wrong, please correct us, but other than that, we’ll leave it aside.”

John picked up where Andrew stopped. “We understand that after an incident with the Seelie Queen, a ritual somehow gave you warlock powers, while you still remain a Shadowhunter as well. This was proven in the trial of Hemarton before the Clave, where by undergoing it, you saved yourself and warlock Magnus Bane from execution for defying the Clave and breaking the Accords.”

“Every Institute was running for the library to find out what the trial of Hemarton was, believe me.” Cordelia said. “Idris was also abuzz with the news that apparently the Angel had spoken to you, and that some of your new powers were derived from him in some way, similar to Clary Fairchild and your parabatai Jace Herondale.”

“Well, their special abilities are a result of extra angel blood from a different angel, but continue.” Alec corrected.

“And then more recently, you were in a magical coma of some kind, and only came out of it through a demonic bond to Magnus Bane.” John said. “I’m sure that story is… not entirely accurate.”

Alec shrugged his shoulders. “They can call it what they want. After my binding runes were severed by Jonathan Morgenstern, I fell into a magical coma, as did Jace and Magnus, until they were able to emerge from it and return the bindings to my skin and theirs. And since Magnus hadn’t previously had a binding rune on his skin - it wasn’t necessary for the ritual that saved my life after the incident with the Seelie Queen - he acquired one then, and as such, I am bound to him as well as to Jace. My bond to Magnus is part of what pulled me out, but I needed both of them for it to happen. My parabatai - my platonic soulmate - and my boyfriend - my romantic soulmate.”

John and Cordelia nodded, and Andrew looked pained. “Alec, I… I’m sure you’re aware they use less kind words when talking about you and your relationship with Magnus Bane.”

“I’m sure they do. But I’ve stopped caring what other people say or think of me. There was once a time when such things would bother me, but I’ve learned to focus on the people who do matter to me. The opinions of others outside of that circle are irrelevant. And I’m sure you’re also thinking of similar remarks directed at Helen and Mark. But I think between us all, we can work to build a better world where people don’t think like that anymore. Where people are more open and loving and ready to accept people who are different from them. Where we can work together, instead of forcing ourselves further apart.”

All three of the Los Angeles people were nodding in agreement.

“I agree.” Andrew said. “I’m not sure how much Helen has told you about our city and the local Downworld. Even though Helen and Mark have Seelie heritage, we don’t actually have all that much contact with the Fair Folk. Sometimes, but rarely. Most of our relationships are also with warlocks and werewolves. Sihanoukville and Mexico City have closer ties with the Fair Folk than we do. But we do believe in honesty and transparency, and I understand that’s what your city is doing.”

“It is.” Alec said. “Or at least, trying to. We haven’t always been successful, but it is a work in progress. Some in the Clave surely say that it is self-serving, since I’m part Downworlder now, but I was already working towards honesty and transparency before my transformation, and I would be doing so even if it hadn’t happened. Something the Angel said stayed with me - well, all he said did, but this did in particular - he said to remember that while Shadowhunters are the enforcers of justice, they are not the only ones with a right to decide what that justice is.”

“I take that to mean that while Shadowhunters are the ones who police the Shadow World, that means we still need to listen to Downworld opinions on how to do that properly?” Cordelia asked.

“That’s the way I interpret it, yes. Keeping us all - Shadowhunters, Downworlders and mundanes - safe from demons is our job as Shadowhunters. But the Downworld has its own methods of keeping internal order and its own codes of justice, so we should take their lead on how to police matters when it comes to the Downworld. And sometimes that will mean not interfering so that they can settle their own disputes. As long as the settling of those disputes does not harm Shadowhunters or mundanes, or cause greater chaos, there is no reason that they shouldn’t be allowed to do that.”

Cordelia nodded. “And you shut down that program that the Clave was trying to implement of tracking and registration. We were glad about that. Some of the Institutes are still going forward with it, and have dismissed anyone with Downworld connections or heritage, but we refused to do that here.”

“Very good. That was a painful and messy situation that we had there, and it took a lot of stern reminders from our allies in the Downworld to realize that in something like this there can be a very dangerously slippery slope, so I’m glad it didn’t get farther than it could have. But it is a reminder that we still have work to do, and that we need to be conscious of how our decisions affect others. Which is why I formed our local Downworld Cabinet, so that we could discuss concerns with the local Downworld leaders.”

“That is something we definitely seek to do here.” Andrew said. “I liked the idea as soon as I heard it from Helen. Now, speaking of Helen, we should go find her. Cordy, John - you have things under control here while I visit New York?”

“Sure do.” Cordelia responded. “It was excellent to meet you, Alec.”

“Likewise.”

Alec followed Andrew back through the winding halls of the Institute, coming back to the entrance hall, where Helen sat on the floor with a small boy in her lap, surrounded by her other siblings hanging off of her every word. Alec smiled, pleased to see a happy family and hoping that he’d have a family like that someday.

“Alec!” Helen said. “I’d like you to meet my brothers and sisters. This is Tavvy.” She indicated the boy in her lap. “Then we’ve got Dru, Ty, Livvy, Jules and Emma. Well, Emma isn’t technically my sister, but she’s Jules’ parabatai so she’s family.”

The slight blonde girl smiled at being included. Alec smiled at all of them, sitting down on the floor next to Helen. Dru looked at him with wide eyes, eyes on his runes.

“Why are your runes gold?” she asked.

“Alec is a special kind of Shadowhunter.” Helen said hurriedly. “He can do things that regular Shadowhunters can’t. He’s the Head of the New York Institute.”

“Why doesn’t Dad have gold runes then?” Ty asked. “He’s also a Head of Institute.”

“Sorry, I should be clearer.” Helen said. “Those are two separate things. Alec is the Head of the New York Institute, just like Dad is the Head here. But he’s a special kind of Shadowhunter - and the only one of his kind. There are no other Shadowhunters like him. And part of what makes him special is that his runes are gold.”

“Does your parabatai have gold runes too?” Emma asked. “Your parabatai is Jace Herondale, right?”

“Jace is my parabatai, yes. He doesn’t have gold runes. Well, no, he has one gold rune. His parabatai rune is gold, because he’s connected to me.”

“And we really need to be getting back to him. And Aline.” Helen said pointedly. “We have a lot of work to do in New York, but hopefully soon Aline and I will be back here. But don’t worry, if everything goes according to plan, Alec will visit more.”

Helen stood up, handing Tavvy to Julian. Alec stood as well, and all of the Blackthorns’ eyes were still on him and his different runes.

“Now if you watch, you’ll see me do one of those special things that I can do.” Alec said. “But you have to stand back, okay?”

All of the teenagers moved back obediently. Alec twisted a hand, creating a Portal on the far side of the room. Helen gave quick hugs to all of her siblings, and then she and Andrew followed Alec through the Portal back to New York -

\- where they arrived in the Portal Room, where Magnus was waiting for them.

“Sorry.” Alec said, kissing him in greeting. “We had a few things to discuss before getting back.”

“Not a problem.” Magnus said. “Andrew Blackthorn?”

“Yes. You must be Magnus Bane?”

“Indeed. I will need you to hold here for a moment while I add your energy signature to our wards. As you can appreciate, we have many enemies and we work hard to keep them out.”

“I can respect that.” As Magnus worked, Andrew looked around at the Portals. “What’s going on here?”

“Portal Room.” Magnus explained. “Since the Idris Inquisition has set up shop on the front lawn, we can’t leave by normal means. So we’ve worked together to create Portals attuned to runes on our Shadowhunters, so that they can Portal back here by activating those runes.”

“Portal runes.” Andrew said thoughtfully, looking at Alec. “Your creation?”

“No, Clary Fairchild’s. Has the Clave kept her unique abilities under wraps?”

“I’ve heard some of her unique ability, but not a lot of details. The Inquisitor doesn’t like to talk about her, since she’s Valentine’s daughter.”

“But very firmly loyal to us, not her father.” Alec made clear. “Clary has no interest in Valentine’s mission. And she’s always been the first to speak up if there’s injustice.”

“I understand that.” Andrew said, nodding. “Believe me, I do. People have differing opinions on the mother of my half-Seelie children, and even I do as well - I - I mean, I remember her, but at the same time - it feels like I don’t?” He furrowed his brow. “It is difficult to explain.”

“Someone confused your memories of your time in the Faerie realm.” Magnus said. “If you want, at some point, we can explore those memories, see how we can reconstruct the real ones. If you want it.”

“Maybe. We’ll see. We have more important things to deal with right now, however.”

Alec nodded. “We all ready?” he asked Magnus.

“Good to go.”

Andrew Blackthorn followed Alec, Magnus and Helen out into the Institute. They took him through the Ops Centre, which was still operating as needed, simply disconnected from the Clave. Past the training rooms, where Jace and Isabelle were taking some of the new arrivals through training drills to judge their strengths and weaknesses. After that, they headed up to Alec’s office on one of the higher levels, that also had a viewing window open to the Clave emissaries down below, who had set up camp on the front lawn.

They had yet another warlock on hand, who was testing the wards around the Institute. Magnus furrowed his brow as if in recognition.

“Do you know him?” Alec asked.

“I do.” Magnus said slowly. “Isaiah Fox. I haven’t seen him in a long time, but he’s not some spring chicken. He’s not a member of the Council, he tends to stay under the radar… unless someone is paying him extremely well. And for him to be working for Shadowhunters, they had to have promised him something especially good.”

“Your position?” Alec asked worriedly.

“No. Shadowhunters can’t promise that, and he’d know it. It isn’t something he’d want, anyway. But he’s old enough that he’ll be on some Council members’ radars, and they’ll have disseminated the information - as I did - that the Clave is not to be trusted or worked with. People of his age and expertise should know better than to be working against all of our interests. Shh, let’s listen.”

They watched Isaiah feel along the wards, brow furrowing as he concentrated, and then he stopped, stepped back, and twisted a hand in the air, pulling a Portal into view. Out of it, stepped Inquisitor Imogen Herondale.

“He broke the wards around Idris.” Magnus breathed, reaching for Alec. Alec pressed his hand to his reassuringly. “They’ve definitely got something special for him. But I don’t know what it could be. What they could promise him that would be worth the ire of the rest of the world’s warlocks.”

The Inquisitor strode right up to Isaiah. “What do you have to tell me, Fox?” the Inquisitor asked.

“There’s a power at play here that I cannot break.” Isaiah said.

“Tell me something I don’t know. You broke the wards around Idris that kept me and my Council and my guards from leaving. Why can’t you break these wards? Your people do wards for a living.”

“That’s just it - it isn’t just my people who have built these wards. There’s angel blood at work here.”

The Inquisitor’s lip curled into a sneer. “Lightwood. We knew that already. He’s a Shadowhunter with demon powers. Warlock powers.”

Isaiah looked at her with a sharp glance, and her sneer disappeared immediately, instead she looked… contrite? Alec couldn’t believe it, he couldn’t believe that a warlock could make her cower like that, given her opinion of them, but perhaps it showed just how desperate she was at breaking whatever power Alec’s group had accumulated.

“Alexander Lightwood’s energy is certainly here, yes, but his isn’t the only one. He’s not the only angel-blooded one to add wards to this building. There are at least three warlocks involved, plus Lightwood, as well as an assortment of other angel-blooded magic users.” He gave the Inquisitor a sharp look. “You know what that means.”

“I’m afraid that I don’t.”

“So blind to your own history, are you?” Isaiah sneered. “Let me spell it out for you. Once upon a time, Shadowhunters wielded magic. Not in the same manner as warlocks, to be sure, but you could build your own wards, create your own shields, and other manners of protective and defensive magic that you now rely on warlocks for. Now all that’s left of it is your runes. Where do you think your grandson’s special powers come from?”

“I was told they were from his extra angel blood.”

“His extra angel blood only awakened his special abilities, the abilities were already there, buried within each Shadowhunter. He and Clarissa Morgenstern could already access some of their rightful angelic power due to their additional angel blood, but the rest of you -” Isaiah laughed. “The rest of you still repress your full abilities under the guise of being good mortals fighting with just the barest of protections. Is death really preferable to having magic available to you?”

“So you’re saying Jace and Clarissa have contributed to the wards on this place?”

“Oh, not just them, Inquisitor. A whole group of Shadowhunters have awakened their latent angelic abilities. They’ve made this place impenetrable to anyone who does not possess both angelic and demonic magic.”

“How do we get it?” The Inquisitor demanded. “What do we do to get it?”

“Oh, so now the Clave wants that power.” Isaiah said. “Too late. You wished it away. No one is going to help you get it now. Understand what I’ve been telling you - your time is up, Imogen. You can try to fight it if you wish, but acknowledge that you’ve lost. You can still win against Valentine if he strikes, but you can’t do it on your own. You need Alexander Lightwood for that task.”

“I will not work with - with that _warlock_ who has perverted what it means to be a Shadowhunter.” The Inquisitor spat out. “Lightwood is not a Shadowhunter anymore, no matter what the rituals say. He’s a Downworlder, and a Downworlder cannot have control of this Institute. I will take it back, mark my words.”

“Valentine will destroy you before that happens.” Isaiah said, looking up the side of the building, looking almost directly into the Portal window that they had open, smiling as if he knew they were being observed. “The only question you have to ask yourself is - will Alexander Lightwood give you aid when you need it? Or will he let Valentine destroy you before he delivers the killing blow to Valentine? There’s only one victor here. The question is whether you oppose him or not. Whether you make yourself his enemy.”

“He’s already an enemy of the Clave.”

“Then there’s your answer. You can burn in Valentine’s flames, unless Lightwood is so generous as to save you. If I were him, I wouldn’t bother. There’s nothing worth saving. Good day, Inquisitor.”

Isaiah twisted a Portal into the air, and stepped through it, leaving the Inquisitor fuming alongside half a dozen of her Guards.

“Well, that was certainly an interesting but welcome twist.” Magnus said, sagging back against Alec, relieved. “While he did reveal some of our secrets to the Inquisitor, he also isn’t ready to help her, and enjoyed playing her for a fool. I suspect he has some dirt on her that he is more than ready to use if she insults him, as evidenced.”

“Fascinating indeed.” Andrew chimed in. “And I’m curious as well, about these angelic powers you speak of.” He turned to his daughter. “Do you have them?”

Helen looked at Alec, and Alec nodded. “I do. So does Mark. We completed a special ritual to draw these powers out of latency and into full use. Alec - Alec already had them, since his powers are a combination of warlock and Shadowhunter. And as you heard, Jace and Clary already had access to some of, but not all of, their special angel powers. We can all build wards and shields of protection, but there are special abilities that are unique to each of us in different ways, reflecting different points of angelic magic, if I understand it correctly.”

Alec nodded and continued. “We were sworn to secrecy about the awakening of these powers. I imagine those who helped us do not want to tip the scales yet, not until after a victory against Valentine has been assured. So forgive me if I cannot give you all of the details yet.”

Andrew nodded. “I understand. So these abilities are awoken… as a group?”

“Something like that. In groups of ten. The nine Shadowhunters closest to me who pledged to join the cause have all been awakened. I hope that in time, this will be able to be expanded to more groups of Shadowhunters as well, but I cannot authorize that. It isn’t my authority to give.”

“All right.” Andrew said. “When you can, please give the word. Any extra protections that can be applied would be of utmost importance.”

“I agree.” Alec said. “In the meantime, since we cannot share that power in terms of granting it to more people, I will authorize Helen and Aline to return with you to Los Angeles to help strengthen your wards. Please speak to those other Institutes - though don’t mention anything about the angelic magic unless they bring it up first, I don’t know if the Clave will spread that news - and tell them about our meeting. If they want to contact me to have their own talks, please have them contact me directly.”

“I will.” Andrew said. “Anything else you wanted to discuss or shall we make a formal agreement?”

“As formal as we can under the circumstances. I will trust you to uphold the virtues of this new Shadowhunter organization - all very simple, really: Fight demons, protect the Shadow World and the mundane world from them. No decisions about Downworlder business without Downworlder involvement. If you learn anything about Valentine or the Circle, report to me immediately. If you hear any new Clave news that you believe could be relevant, please share it. Do you agree to all of that?”

“I do. I agree to all of your conditions.” Andrew Blackthorn said confidently, reaching out a hand to shake Alec’s. Alec looked sideways to Helen, and she nodded, clearing her father’s truth. Alec took Andrew’s hand, and they shook firmly.

“Good to have you on board.” Alec looked to Helen. “Go find Clary and Catarina, and they can construct a new Portal and rune in the Portal Room. When that’s done, give the runes to yourself, your father, Lydia, Aline and Mark. Then you and Aline can take him back to Los Angeles and do the wards there.”

“Got it. Is it okay if we spend the night there? My siblings are still anxious to see me and learn more about everything that’s been going on.”

“Sure, no problem. Be back in the morning though, I think we need to start formulating an aggressive strategy against Valentine.”

“Of course. Thanks.”

“Best of luck with your work here.” Andrew said seriously. “If you need assistance, call. My Institute is just a call or fire-message - and hopefully soon, Portal - away. We’re with you.”

“Thank you.” Alec nodded. “I’ll be in touch with any updates from this end.”

Helen and Andrew left the room, and Magnus stepped into Alec’s personal space, smoothing his hands down the front of Alec’s shirt.

“Look at you, being the diplomat.” Magnus said proudly. “So there are even more Institutes that might be interested in joining us?”

“Yeah.” Alec said, sitting down on the couch, pulling Magnus down next to him and resting his head on the warlock’s shoulder. “I hadn’t planned on starting an exodus from the Clave, but it is starting to happen. Andrew said there were nine other Institutes who are looking to leave the Clave, all over the world - they found out about each other by virtue of being on a list of Institutes that needed to shape up, as it were. But instead of shaping up, they’ve been in talks with each other, and everyone’s looking here - because we’re already outside of the Clave’s purview. Not officially, I mean we’ve never said anything to them, but they’re already treating us like we’re outside of their authority, and we’ve been acting that way, so -”

“Shhhh. Slow down, Alexander.” Magnus said. “I - well, I suppose not I, but something happened while you were still unconscious that might make Imogen at least decide that you’re operating independently and no longer under the authority of the Clave.”

“Oh? You mean when Gurak sent her back to Idris through a Portal?”

“No, but that probably drove the point home. After - after Jace and I woke up, the Inquisitor immediately demanded that Jace join her back in Idris. Jace refused, saying he doesn’t take orders from her, he takes them from you. And that you were the only one that he was listening to. I more or less enforced his position, saying we needed you to fight against Valentine, and that once we’d accomplished that, we’d let her know. I told her I didn’t take orders from the Clave, she called me an insolent little warlock, and that’s when Gurak’s Portals sent them away.”

Alec chuckled. “Well then. I didn’t even have to say anything, my soulmates told her on my behalf.”

“I hope you’re not mad. I’m sure you wanted to say something to her yourself.”

“Oh, I do. But I’ll save that for when we officially declare independence from the Clave, on the battlefield after we’ve defeated Valentine.”

As if on cue, a fire-message floated out of the sky, dropping in front of Alec, the signature of the sender on the note clearing saying _Valentine_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm... what does Valentine want from Alec I wonder?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Opinions differ and tempers flare as the group decides how to respond to Valentine’s message, but Alec makes one thing clear - now that news of their angelic magic is out to the Clave, they must move quickly if they wish to hold any advantage over Valentine’s forces.

“Valentine sent you a message?” Jace asked incredulously, leaning back against the wall. “Seriously?”

Alec nodded. “Yeah.”

“What does it say?” Clary asked, eyes wide as she surveyed the crumpled piece of paper in Alec’s hand. The whole war council, inner circle, whatever Alec wanted to call them - save for Aline and Helen, who had gone to Los Angeles, and Max, who was helping Deepali with the newest arrivals - was in Alec’s office, ready to hear what Valentine had sent Alec.

“He congratulated me on beating his demonic son, glad that he doesn’t have to put him out of his misery himself.” Alec said grimly. “And to acknowledge me as a fellow rebel against the Clave, wanting to know if we wanted to work together.”

“Work together.” Clary stated, disbelief clear in her voice. “But - but you’re fighting him because he hates Downworlders.”

“Yeah. But he must think I hate the Clave as much as he does.” Alec said, shrugging his shoulders. “And that that would be enough to make us allies until they’re defeated, and then we’d turn on each other.”

“But you’re not actually considering it, are you?” Mark asked, a tone of worry in his voice.

“Of course not.” Alec said. “But we do need a way to get close to Valentine.”

“He’s not going to bring the Mortal Cup and the Soul Sword to a first meeting.” Jace cautioned. “Maybe the Sword, but not the Cup. He’s not that stupid.”

“He isn’t. But if I can get through a first meeting with him, see what his suggestions and plans could be, I can propose a second meeting. By the Lake. He would take the Cup and Sword with him then, I’m sure he suspects from his Clave spies that there’s something special about that lake. He’d take the opportunity if he could. So he’ll come armed with both of them, and that’s where all of you and the Downworld wait to take him out. I’d look for opportunities in that first meeting, but if they don’t present themselves, then we have to take the fight to him. In force, and he can’t suspect that we’ve already done something to prepare for it.”

“You think Valentine would fall for that?” Jace asked. “Alec, I know you’re meaning well, but Valentine is an expert manipulator. He knows we’re all frustrated waiting for him to show up, constantly on edge, waiting for an attack. He wants this meeting so you let your guard down. Not with him, per se - but if he draws you out, then that presents opportunities for his people to engage other forces. Attack our patrols, attack the Institute, even. And somewhere in his menagerie of experiments, there could be something that he could send through our wards. Something we haven’t seen before, like those Forsaken he experimented with.”

“Jace, do you have a better option? On how we get close to him? We are on edge, absolutely. We can’t keep fighting a war of attrition, hoping for him to make a mistake. We know that Valentine doesn’t make mistakes. Not often. We are constantly on guard. Constantly at war. This has to stop.”

“I have a really bad idea.” Clary said.

Everyone turned to look at Clary. “What would that be?” Alec asked.

“We invite him here. To the Institute. Let him in the front door.”

“Why would we do that?” Isabelle asked. “Inviting him in to see our secrets, our plans - why is that a good idea?”

“Because this is the seat of our power.” Clary said, looking at Alec. “We are more powerful here than he is. He doesn’t know that we have people who can compel the truth from him.”

“Why would he come?” Jace asked. “There’s nothing here that he wants. There’s nothing that we can offer him that would make him walk in here by himself.”

“Are you sure?” Clary asked. “I mean, he wants us. He wants to activate the Sword again, I’m sure.”

“He wouldn’t walk in here for that. Not alone. Not when a wish from the Angel is within his grasp. He’s not an idiot, Clary.” Jace said, perhaps too harshly, as Clary shrank back.

“Inviting him into the Institute is a bad idea.” Alec said. “But we do need to end this now. He won’t come out of hiding unless he believes he can win. And now that the Clave knows that we have special angel powers, it will surely spread to Valentine’s people soon. Which is why we need to move now, before they can really understand what that means.”

“So what do we do then?” Isabelle asked.

“The time for small steps is over. We take the fight to him to Lake Lyn. Have our people and the Downworlders on standby to join us by Portal when we give the signal.”

“You think he would come to fight?” Lydia asked.

“I think he’s probably as sick of this as we all are.” Maryse said suddenly. “Valentine is cunning, but he is not especially patient. If you offer him an opportunity that seems plausible, he might take it. He wants his power. He believes the Angel will grant him that power. If he can ignore the Clave and make a deal with someone else for it, he’ll do it.”

“So is this what we’re suggesting?” Jace said. “Tell him, oh hey, Lake Lyn is the Mortal Mirror. Come fight us there? And hope the Clave shows up, or that the Downworld doesn’t think this is suicide?”

“As the pure-blooded, as it were, Downworlder in the room, I vote for Alec’s plan.” Magnus said, standing to his feet swiftly. “We’ve been fighting a war of attrition against Valentine for awhile now. And we stand on the brink of a complex web of breaking from the Clave. There are too many variables at play. Let’s eliminate one - I want Valentine in the ground. Now.”

“You think the Downworld would go for a plan of leading Valentine directly to the Mortal Mirror?” Jace asked.

“The Downworld is scared. But the Lake is warded. You saw it like we all did, the seal is impenetrable.” Magnus said firmly. “The werewolves have pledged to fight with us, at very least. And I will be there. I just need to convince the rest of the Downworld that fighting is better than withering away in constant fear.”

“All right.” Alec said, looking to Magnus. “Let’s hope that Valentine doesn’t have the Fair Folk working for him to take the wards on the Lake down.”

“It would be an involved process, if he were to try.” Magnus said. “But just in case… and I know you were thinking of it earlier… maybe you should go see the Seelie Queen and judge her. Offer her a better deal than Valentine.”

“And what would be a better deal that I could offer the Seelie Queen?” Alec asked. “You said that we should explore other options first before going for that one.”

“I did. But this was while your angelic powers - well, not yours, but all of yours - were still a secret within this Institute. Now, all we can do is arm up as many people as possible and send them against him before he can realize what it means.”

“Do you mean asking the Silent Brothers if they’d be willing to awaken powers for more of our people?” Alec asked.

“That is a possibility. But they might still be too untrained to be useful in battle. But if there are other options for extending the reach of powers - besides you of course, Maryse - that would be beneficial. Something else up our sleeves, that he wouldn’t expect? Even if he does hear of the angelic powers? That would be best.”

“Valentine will think of every possibility.” Jace said, gesturing firmly at Magnus and Alec. “Guys, we’ve fought Valentine before. He won’t walk into any situation where he doesn’t think he’ll win. We need more tricks than just these angel powers and a ward on the lake. Something new, something no one has ever heard of.”

“There isn’t anything new.” Magnus said, getting up into Jace’s face now, angry. “I’ve been alive for centuries. _Nothing_ is new. There are only old things that have been forgotten. And even if they have been forgotten by most, there is usually still someone who knows them. I’m not saying Valentine has them all on his payroll, but - he knows a lot.” Magnus looked down to Jace’s hands, where a rune was glowing on his forearm. “Except, wait…” He grabbed Jace’s wrist, and while Jace was angry, he didn’t pull away.

“When you were with Valentine - none of these powers manifested, did they? It was only after you touched the Soul Sword.”

“Yeah. So what?”

“But why was that? Clary could access her special abilities from the moment she regained her Sight.”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m a late bloomer? Who cares. He knows about them now, he has to.”

“Guys.” Clary said softly, such that only Alec heard her.

“GUYS.” She said more loudly, after Jace and Magnus weren’t paying attention to her.

“Hey!” Alec said sharply, and both parabatai and boyfriend stopped their confrontation. “Clary wanted to say something.”

Clary looked between Jace and Magnus. “I… I have an idea for a rune.” She pulled out her stele, sketching it in the air. Alec looked at it, puzzled.

“Clary, that’s two runes. Not one rune. It looks familiar somehow, but…”

“Yeah. It should look familiar.” She said, walking over and yanking Alec’s shirt up, pressing a finger to Alec’s binding rune to Magnus. “Some of the same patterns are right in here.”

Magnus looked at the image shimmering in the air. “It is a type of binding rune, she’s right. Something less permanent than what Alec and I share, and not a soul bond, but rather a - a sharing of powers? Is that right, biscuit?”

“Yeah.” Clary said. “I… I feel that it is something that lets a Shadowhunter and a Downworlder share their powers with one another in battle. It won’t last forever, but - but it’ll do the job for the fight. So everyone chooses a partner, and dives in. Shadowhunters could have vampire speed, werewolves could use seraph blades.”

“This could be a real game-changer.” Magnus said. “Something like this would definitely have a lot more pull with the High Warlock Council, and if we can get them on board, we’ve got both the warlocks and the vampires fighting with us as well.”

Maryse stood up to take a closer look at the rune. “And it is definitely something that Valentine has never seen before. He wouldn’t even want to. He’s so blinded by his Shadowhunter superiority that this would never occur to him.” She said.

“Wouldn’t occur to him to use it, or wouldn’t occur to him that _we_ might use something like it?” Jace asked. “Because even if he doesn’t believe in it, even if he wouldn’t - would something like this used by us occur to him?”

“There are so many different possibilities. What he knows, what he doesn’t know.” Alec said. “And every minute we sit here deliberating it the chances of him learning more and more about us increase. I vote that we do not let them get any bigger.

“Clary, copy that rune down, and while I go to the Seelie Court to speak to the Queen, you and Magnus go to the High Warlock Council, tell them about this rune, maybe even demonstrate how it could be used. As soon as you have word from them, notify Jace and Izzy, they can start sharing the rune with our Downworld allies.

“Mark, send Helen a fire-message, telling her we need her, Aline, and everyone she can bring from the Los Angeles Institute without leaving it completely unprotected to join us tomorrow. If your father can bring allies from the other Institutes he mentioned too, even better. I need numbers by midnight so we know how many potential Shadowhunter-Downworlder pairs we could have.

“Mom and Lydia, go to the Silent City. Talk to Brother Zachariah, see if they would be willing to awaken at least one more group of Shadowhunters tonight. Andrew Blackthorn and nine loyal to him from the Los Angeles Institute. They might not be able to master a lot, but any sort of defensive shields that we can get, I’ll take. If any of you have any downtime after your tasks, practice them yourselves.” Alec twisted Valentine’s fire message between his fingers. “I’m going to write back to Valentine, and tell him that we will meet at the Mortal Mirror tomorrow at sundown. If he arrives at Lake Lyn, we know he knows. And then we end this.”

Everyone filed out of the office except for Jace, Clary and Magnus, who crowded around the front of Alec’s desk as he sat down in his desk chair, pulling a sheaf of paper towards himself so that he could write messages first to Valentine and then the Seelie Queen - two people, who, given the choice, he would never write to in a million years. But here they were.

He noticed the other three were still staring at him. “Yes?”

“About this rune…” Clary said. “I want to call it the Alliance rune.”

“Okay. Call it what you want. Why are you all looking at me?”

Clary fumbled around, uncomfortable. “I think both of them are wondering who you are going to ally yourself with. You can only have one.”

Alec put down his stele and sat back, looking from Jace to Magnus and back again, and then at Clary.

“I don’t think I can use this rune.” Alec said. “I think Jace and Magnus should ally with each other.”

This was clearly not the answer any of them were expecting, for they all looked at each other with confusion.

“Look, I am already part Shadowhunter and part Downworlder. I don’t think this rune will work for me, not the way it is intended, anyway. But I do think that you two, Jace and Magnus that is, would make good partners for this. I already move as one with both of you. Turning into a battle machine together as three would be most effective, wouldn’t it?”

Magnus rested a hand on Alec’s shoulder. “You sure you’re okay with that?”

“Positive. For better or for worse, I’m unique.” Alec shrugged. “I’ve accepted that. It’s okay, Magnus. I know you’ll both still be able to feel me, and me both of you. I won’t be alone in this battle. None of us will be.”

Magnus smiled at him, but Alec could still feel apprehension from Jace.

“Jace?” Alec asked. “We cool?”

Jace started at the sound of his name, but looked up. “Yeah. We’re cool. I just hope this works. I can’t lose you, Alec - if Valentine gets into the Lake - if he wishes - I just can’t.”

Alec stood up, walking around to Jace. “Hey. We’re going to do this. We’re finally going to put Valentine down. Focus on that. Focus on taking him down. Focus on getting the Mortal Instruments away from him. I need my best soldier to be focused on the mission.”

“Mission. Right.” Jace scoffed. “Like this is just any other mission. Alec, one mistake and you’re _dead_. You and thousands of others. Maybe millions.”

“Then we won’t make mistakes. We watch each other’s backs. The way we always have, all right? Please, Jace. Let’s work this step by step. Take a deep breath. Go find Izzy. Go to the Hunter’s Moon. Wait for Clary’s call. Then start recruiting. Can you do that?”

Jace let out a long breath as Alec pulled him into a hug. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Good.” Alec said, stepping back after a moment. “Now all of you, go. I have to write letters to the two people I hate most in the world, and tell them I want to be friends.”

Jace and Clary nodded and dashed out the door, but Magnus lingered for a moment, running a hand down Alec’s arm, rubbing circles on his wrist.

“You going to be okay seeing her alone?” Magnus asked.

“She’ll be more likely to talk if I’m alone. She already revealed some of her hand earlier, before - before the dreams. I don’t like it, but it is the best option.”

“Be safe.”

“I will.” Alec kissed Magnus softly, and they rested their foreheads together for a moment before parting.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seelies never give anything for free. What do you think the Seelie Queen will want from Alec? And is it something he'll be willing to give?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec goes to see the Seelie Queen, and she makes a request that he never would have expected. Magnus and Clary meet with the High Warlock Council, Maryse and Lydia see the Silent Brothers, and Izzy and Jace rally the Downworld in preparation of the coming battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blink and you'll miss it minor spoilers for The Infernal Devices, but if you've already gotten this far with this series, shouldn't be anything new.

Alec stood on the bridge in Central Park, waiting for his Seelie escort. The Seelie Queen had granted him an audience, promising his complete safety in her Court, even explicitly granting him permission to keep his weapons while there, as well as assuring him an escort that would provide additional security against Valentine, the Circle, Valentine’s demons and the Clave.

Somehow, all of her assurances made Alec even more nervous. He was regretting his decision to go alone, though it had seemed the best idea at the time, given the debacle that had occurred when Jace, Clary and Simon had gone.

But her fire-message had stated that the promises of safety and permission to keep weapons was granted to him. He knew the Queen would exploit that if anyone else were to join him.

This was a mission he had to do alone.

The escort appeared, and in no time at all, he was standing before the Seelie Queen on her throne.

“Alexander Lightwood. What brings you to the Seelie Court today?”

“You’ve made a deal with Valentine.”

The Seelie Queen said nothing.

“I want to make you a better deal.”

The Seelie Queen smiled.

* * *

_Helen -_

_Tomorrow at sundown, it goes down. Anyone and everyone that you can bring from LA and the other Institutes Dad mentioned, do it. Alec wants numbers by midnight._

_\- Mark._

* * *

Magnus knew that a Shadowhunter couldn’t enter the Spiral Labyrinth without prior approval from the High Warlock Council, or without modifications to the wards. Since time was of the essence, the Council members agreed to join Magnus and Clary at his loft.

Adalina, Agostinho and the other members of the ruling council Portalled in within minutes of Magnus and Clary arriving there.

“Bane.” Adalina said. “You have word on developments?”

“Yes.” Magnus nodded. “You said that if there was a way that we could fight with the Shadowhunters, instead of for them or against them, to let you know. We have found that way.”

“Intriguing.” Adalina said. “Since Clarissa is here, I’m assuming this has to do with her rune power?”

“It does.” Clary said. “A rune came to me, while we were discussing on how to deal with Valentine. A pair of runes, rather. They would temporarily bind a Shadowhunter and a Downworlder, allowing them to access each other’s powers. Shadowhunters could have vampire speed, werewolf strength, warlock magic. Downworlders could use seraph blades, which would provide a huge advantage when fighting demons that can heal if not prevented by doing so by angelic magic.”

Adalina looked at the other warlocks, and back to Clary. “That is certainly an interesting proposal. I think a demonstration is called for.”

The other warlocks looked immediately at Magnus, but Adalina kept her eyes on Clary, rolling up her own sleeve.

“Sorry Magnus.” Adalina said. “While I don’t believe your bond to your Shadowhunter will interfere with this rune, I think the Downworld would be better swayed if it were tested by someone who doesn’t have angelic connections. And Clarissa and I have worked together already.”

Magnus nodded and stepped back, while Clary stepped up to Adalina, drawing the rune on her wrist. It gleamed white, as did the adamas when she she handed the stele to Adalina. Adalina looked at the matching rune on the paper, and drew it on Clary’s wrist with a flourish. As the rune was completed, wisps of white magic emerged from the runes on both wrists, binding together for a few moments before fading away.

“I can feel it.” Clary said, pulling her hand back. She snapped her fingers and red sparks emerged from them.

Clary stepped back, closing her eyes to concentrate. She reached her hand out, as if reaching for something, and suddenly there was an oar in her hand. She opened her eyes and smiled, pleased at what she’d accomplished.

“Out of all of the possibilities of what you could summon, you chose an oar?” Adalina asked, confused.

“There are wards around the Institute. Anything I own is there, so I can’t summon it. So I thought of Simon’s next, and all the canoes and kayaks, and… yeah.” Clary shrugged sheepishly. She shook the oar, and it vanished, presumably back to where it had come from. “This is amazing.”

“Now either you’ve got an innate talent for summoning things, or by borrowing powers, you also call on the knowledge that your partner has.” Magnus suggested.

“I think it is the latter.” Clary said. “I’ve never asked how the whole making stuff appear works, but it just felt like I… knew.” Clary pulled her smaller seraph blade out of her weapons belt, handing it to Adalina. “Sorry, I don’t think I’ll be much help in that regard, I’m still learning weapons, I’m not as good as those who have grown up training.”

“That’s all right.” Adalina said, taking the blade with one hand, but her attention was still focused on the stele in her other hand. “I wanted to try something different first. It might be risky, but - I have to know.” She looked at Magnus and Agostinho. “You two can help contain any problems, if they arise?”

“You want to rune yourself.” Agostinho said slowly. “Are you sure?”

“The question will come up from the others, I’m certain. We have to know all of what is possible. I won’t ask the Downworld to experiment with something I’m not ready to try myself, and if we do this battle, we need to have every possible skill and talent available to us.”

“All right.” Agostinho said, still looking warily at the stele in Adalina’s hand. “If you’re certain.”

Adalina nodded, setting the stele to her skin, drawing what Magnus recognized to be the Precision rune. It didn’t settle into her skin as a rune typically would, but it didn’t vanish either - it stayed on the surface, as if she’d drawn on her arm with a gleaming white marker. She handed the stele back to Clary, and using her own magic, created a target on the far wall of the living room. Lightly grasping the blade by the tip, Adalina threw it at the target, where it hit the bull’s eye straight on. She smiled.

“I’ve always wanted to do that.” Adalina said proudly. “I have rubbish aim with weapons normally. This definitely works.”

“How are you feeling?” Agostinho asked.

“Fine.” Adalina looked down at the Precision rune. “As you can see, it isn’t actually binding to my skin. Temporary, like the rest of this. I wouldn’t recommend Downworlders rune themselves with every rune out there, but sticking only to the ones that could help in this battle should be perfectly fine.”

“Does that mean you’ll fight with us?” Clary asked.

Adalina eyed the other warlocks. “What is the vote of the council? Do we fight Valentine together with the Shadowhunters?”

There were a few dissenting voices, but the majority of the Council voted in the affirmative.

“It is settled.” Adalina said. “While we will not force the hand of those who do not wish to fight, it is our majority vote that yes, the High Warlock Council will endorse warlocks and other members of the Downworld to join with the Shadowhunters of the New York Institute in this battle.”

* * *

_Mark -_

_We’ve got forty from LA and twenty from each of the other nine. Not counting me or Aline. Hope that will be enough?_

_\- Helen._

* * *

“Why help Valentine at all? Why not just kill him when you met him and neutralize him right there?” Alec asked.

“I needed him.” The Seelie Queen said simply. “As I’ve told you before, the Clave is no friend to the Downworld.”

“Neither is Valentine.”

“But he weakens the Clave just by existing.”

Alec tried to keep his expression neutral, but even though she hadn’t explicitly said it, he now understood _why_ the Seelie Queen had made a deal with Valentine. “That’s what you want. You don’t care how it happens. You just want the Clave to be weak.”

“Don’t you? I’ve heard what you’ve been up to since our last meetings. You’ve been fighting more than just Valentine. And I told you you’d need my help.”

“I don’t need your help with the Clave. I need your help to solve a problem you created. If you weren’t willing to put the entire Downworld in danger by breaking our wards, Valentine wouldn’t be willing to take that meeting with me.”

“Maybe it is because I knew you’d come to me if I did.”

Alec felt a chill grip him, but he didn’t let himself shiver. Any twitch and the Seelie Queen would know she was getting to him.

“What do you want from me?” Alec asked.

“So many things. Can you be more specific?”

“What will it take to have you break your deal with Valentine and help the Downworld instead?”

“I cannot break my entire deal with Valentine. If I did, he’d know right away there was something amiss, and he wouldn’t go to your meeting. You wouldn’t be able to have the fight that you so desperately crave.”

Alec’s expression darkened. “You think we might destroy each other.”

“That thought did cross my mind. But no. I do hope you win, and I mean that sincerely. If you and Valentine destroyed each other, that would leave me to have to deal with the Clave. And I am much less interested in that.”

* * *

_Maryse Trueblood Lightwood and Lydia Charlotte Branwell. What brings you to the Silent City?_

“Tomorrow we take on Valentine, for once and for all.” Lydia said. “We meaning - not the Clave. They know nothing about it. But our group, as relatively small as we are, and hopefully with the assistance of the Downworld. But we’re getting bigger - Andrew Blackthorn, the Head of the Los Angeles Institute, formally declared allegiance to Alec earlier today. We were hoping that before the battle, you could awaken at least one more group of ten, from the Los Angeles Institute. Helen, Mark and I can all vouch for them.”

_From the Los Angeles Institute?_ Brother Zachariah questioned. _Which families?_

“I don’t know who Andrew would choose, but my assumption would be that there would be some Blackthorns, as well as the Carstairs. John and Cordelia are close to Andrew, possibly their daughter Emma as well.”

_Carstairs._ Lydia detected a very pensive tone in Brother Zachariah’s thoughts. 

Brother Zachariah turned to the other Silent Brothers with him. Lydia suspected that they were conversing among themselves, and she looked at Maryse nervously as the silence grew longer and longer. After what felt like an age, Brother Zachariah turned back to the women.

_We Silent Brothers are not meant to have mortal attachments, but given that Alexander Gideon Lightwood’s changes to the Shadow World are all rooted in love, we have agreed that it is perhaps time that we also embrace this mortal quality. For the sake of the Carstairs and their friends, I will do this for them._

“Thank you.” Maryse said. “When should they come? Lydia and I both wish to remain and study so that we can also gain a greater understanding of our powers.”

_As soon as they are ready. No time to waste._

* * *

_Helen -_

_Hopefully. Magnus & company are getting the Downworld on board. Heard from Lydia - the ten is a go. They need to get to the Silent City right away. Maryse and Lydia will meet them there. But I need names now._

_-Mark._

* * *

“What do you _want_?” Alec asked through gritted teeth. He had pinned the Seelie Queen down to a promise for the battle ahead, but she had yet to reveal what she wanted in return.

“There is a boy under the protection of one of the Shadow Markets. I cannot get to him. But in time, he will come looking to you for that protection instead. He possesses something that he does not understand the value of. He will give it to you, and when he does, you will bring it straight to me.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Besides what I promised? Because if you don’t, that boy will die. And so will everyone around him. I am giving you a chance, Alexander Lightwood. I suggest you take it.”

* * *

_CLARY: It’s a go. Magnus and I will join you at the Hunter’s Moon shortly.  
IZZY: Great. We’ll be waiting._

Isabelle slipped her phone back into her pocket. “That was Clary. The High Warlock Council appears to have said yes.”

“Good.” Jace said, looking over the bar over his beer. “Who do we talk to first?”

“What are we talking about?” Maia asked. Jace started at her voice. “Don’t act so surprised. Werewolf hearing, remember? This sounds serious.”

“It is.” Isabelle said. “It is time for all of us to take on Valentine. Together.”

“Together.” Maia said skeptically. “Look, I’ve heard that you guys are leaving the Clave and all, and that Alec’s half warlock now, but last time we tried to take on Valentine together, half of my pack died.” She glanced at Jace. “I know it wasn’t your fault. But what’s different this time?”

“It will still be dangerous.” Jace admitted. “It is a battle, after all. But we should be taking Valentine by surprise.”

“Should be? You’re not really selling me on this.”

“Hasn’t Luke already agreed?” Isabelle said.

“ _Luke_ has, because Valentine is personal to him.” Maia said. “He was Valentine’s parabatai. The rest of us could take some convincing. What have you got?”

“A rune.” Isabelle said. “A rune that lets a Shadowhunter and a Downworlder share their powers with each other.”

“A rune.” Maia scoffed. “Look, I see where this could be of benefit to the Shadowhunters, you get all of our special powers, but what’s in it for us?”

“Being able to use seraph blades which help prevent demons from healing. Because Valentine will bring demons to the party.” Isabelle said.

“Go on.”

“How about the simple fact that if we _don’t_ throw as many people as we can at Valentine’s army, the chances of him being able to use the Mortal Instruments increases exponentially, meaning that you die anyway?” Jace said sardonically. “Wouldn’t you rather this was over, rather than just playing hide and seek with Valentine?”

“Harsh. But okay, let’s say I agree to this. I am _not_ partnering up with you.”

Jace chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m spoken for. But Izzy might be looking for a partner.”

Isabelle looked at the other girl. “What do you say, Maia?”

* * *

_Mark -_

_Dad, Jules, Cordelia, John, Emma, Diana, Katerina, Charlotte, Mariana, Nico. They’re on their way to the entrance of the Silent City now. The other Institutes will Portal here in the morning, and then we’ll all proceed to New York from there._

_-Helen._

* * *

Alec left the Seelie Court, headed for the Hunter’s Moon, with a sense of foreboding deep in his bones.

The battle against Valentine no longer worried him. But what could come after - that _terrified_ him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's that, is that a sequel hook I see? Yes, yes it is. Who is the boy? And what will he have that the Seelie Queen wants? These questions will be answered in the sequel to this series ;) First we need to defeat Valentine, and that will all be done before the S3 premiere gets under way, so expect an extra chapter this week!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec meets Valentine on the shores of Lake Lyn, and the battle begins.
> 
> **Warning:** Minor Character Death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning again: Minor Character Death. Proceed with caution.** It's a battle. People die. Also, graphic violence and anti-Downworlder language.

**Third Warning: Minor Character Death.**

Alec stood alone on the shore of Lake Lyn, the windy night making small waves lap up around his feet. He felt the current of familiar magic surge through his veins as the water touched him.

It appeared that the Seelie Queen came through on her promise. Alec could step in the Lake, break its surface - as could anyone else who worked on the warding spell - but for Valentine or any others, the surface would be solid as a rock as the wards intended.

He hoped it would be enough to fool Valentine.

“Alexander Lightwood.” Valentine stepped out of the forest, Mortal Cup in one hand, a burlap sack in the other, Soul Sword strapped to his back.

“Valentine Morgenstern.”

“I didn’t expect you’d come alone.”

“I’m not. Never can be.” Alec put his hands on his hips, fingers pressing into his binding runes, silently telling Magnus and Jace that it was time.

“Right, your bonds, of course. I don’t know why my son had such poor taste in parabatai, because this is truly disgraceful. A Shadowhunter, willingly taking warlock blood into himself.”

“You poisoned your biological son with demon blood.”

“And look where that got him.” Valentine said. “I tried to get rid of him when he was a child, when I realized what a mistake I’d made. That both he and Jace weren’t the soldiers I needed. But Clarissa… she’s another matter. That’s the one thing that I forgot as I was raising both Jonathan and Jace. What I needed was never the best soldier, someone skilled at fighting and battle. No. That’s not the legacy I needed. The legacy I needed was someone who had the same ruthlessness as I do. And Clarissa certainly has that ruthlessness.”

“You know nothing about Clary.” Alec said firmly.

“I know more about my daughter than you may think. She’ll do whatever she believes is right, no matter what the consequences. You know that better than anyone.”

“That much is true.” 

“But let’s cut the small talk, shall we? We both know you didn’t come here to make any sort of agreement. I just wanted to you to witness the death of your dream, your demon lover, and, well… this of course.” Valentine hefted the sack in his hand. “It seems that as soon as one of my allies in Alicante let it slip that I was meeting you here, and the Clave decided that this was further proof of your crimes, a group of Shadowhunters who were certain that you’d never actually ally with me decided to go against the Clave mandate. They armed up and came to provide you with a rear guard, but well, my demons made quick work of them.”

A sick feeling started spreading through Alec’s body as Valentine tossed the sack in his direction, where it hit the ground with a gruesome _crack_ , spilling its contents just short of the lake.

Heads, beaten and bloodied.

Including his father’s.

“No.” Alec whispered, knees threatening to give out as he forced himself to look back up to Valentine, knowing a distraction was what Valentine wanted. He couldn’t let himself get distracted. Not right now. Mourning would have to wait until after the battle.

Alec began to feel magic vibrating in the air around him, incoming Portals only seconds away. With a soft whisper of _ave atque vale_ for his father and the others who had fought with him, Alec willed his bow to his side, nocking an arrow and pointing it right at Valentine, as Portals erupted on either side of him, Shadowhunters and Downworlders alike appearing from them all along the lakefront.

Valentine sneered. “I didn’t come alone either.” He held the Mortal Cup up in front of him. “Demons, come!”

* * *

Maia and Isabelle were the first to drop out of the Portal that appeared in the clearing where they’d heard the Inquisitor speak after building the wards. Luke and Maryse were next, and they were followed by the rest of the New York pack and the Shadowhunters that shared Alliance runes with them.

The clearing was about a quarter of a mile back from the Lake itself, but they could already hear the battle raging.

“Careful. There will be Circle members everywhere.” Isabelle whispered under her breath, knowing that the werewolf hearing that they were all benefiting from would carry her words to everyone in their group.

They advanced into the forest, zeroing in on their targets, the Circle members’ footsteps telegraphing their location to any with enhanced werewolf senses in the vicinity.

The Circle never heard them coming.

* * *

Valentine disappeared from sight behind the mass of approaching demons, while Shadowhunters and Downworlders alike dove into battle against them.

“Go after him!” Alec shouted at Clary. “Make sure he can’t get through to the Lake!”

Clary and Simon disappeared after Valentine with vampire speed, Jace trailing behind them, gleefully shooting blue fireballs into any demon and Circle member in his path.

The demons were advancing too quickly, and Alec slung his bow back over his shoulder, going for his seraph blade. Magnus was by his side, seraph blade in a weapons belt slung around his hips, but for the moment still holding the demons at bay with his own blue fire.

“Let’s do this.” Alec said, and both charged at the demons ahead.

* * *

The battle seemed never-ending as Clary and Simon fought off demons and Circle members in their path as they stalked Valentine, but after making a complete circuit of the Lake, they were almost back to the starting beach when Valentine vanished from Clary’s sight.

“Do you see him?” She called to Simon.

“No!”

“Jace?” Clary yelled, not seeing him but knowing he would be not far behind.

“Negative!”

“Where did he go?” Clary felt a burning pain in her wrist where the Alliance rune was, and looked around frantically for Simon.

“SIMON!” Clary screamed. “Simon, where are you?”

No answer came. An enormous demon - larger than Clary had ever seen before - reared up in front of her, and as she slashed at it with her blade, she saw Simon’s foot peeking out from underneath the demon.

“No, Simon!” Clary sobbed, but the rune on her wrist still burned, telling her that Simon wasn’t gone, not yet anyway, and if defeating the demon in front of her was what would fix it, she wasn’t about to stop.

But her laser focus on the demon that was on Simon left her back open, and as Jace sprinted into sight screaming her name in warning, a Shax demon leapt onto her back, stabbing its tail into her shoulder.

“CLARY!” Jace yelled again, willing himself to go faster, tearing the Shax demon off of Clary with his bare hands, incinerating it in the process. He caught Clary as she fell.

“Clary, Clary, look at me.” Jace whispered. “Look at me, dammit.”

Clary lifted a weak hand, pointing at the demon that was still before them, Jace barely moving them in time before a huge foot stomped down in the place they had been.

“Save… Simon… save… me.” Clary whispered. “Vampire… healing…” Her eyes slipped shut as Jace yanked Clary’s stele out of her belt, activating her healing rune as a temporary measure before bounding to his feet and facing down the demon that was still sitting on Simon.

Jace drove his seraph blade straight into the demon’s chest, over and over again, and he could see it starting to falter, but just before it collapsed in on itself and vanished back to Hell, its spiked tail caught Jace in the shoulder, one long spike piercing all the way through before disappearing.

* * *

In the melee, Alec lost track of how many demons and Circle members he and Magnus put down, but they kept coming. None had made it to the Lake, and for that he was grateful as that meant the ruse still held, but as he took a quiet moment to breathe, he saw the Lake pulse an angry blood-red. He looked to Magnus for an explanation.

“Someone who worked on the warding has died.” Magnus said quietly, throwing a ball of magic over his shoulder at a Circle member that was creeping up on him. 

“I thought you said that even we couldn’t undo it.”

“Undo it, no, but what the Seelie Queen did - it did change the wards. If too many of us fall -” - the Lake pulsed again as Magnus looked towards it - “- its strength could be compromised.” Magnus turned back to face Alec, but Alec wasn’t there.

“Alexander?” Magnus asked, looking around, finally seeing Alec advancing on Valentine, who had reappeared barely a hundred feet away, mere inches from the water’s edge, preparing to throw the Cup and the Sword into the Lake.

Alec threw up a shield between Valentine and the Lake, pushing the zealot back and turning his attention to Alec, who advanced on him seraph blade in hand. Magnus ran to back him up as his wrist began to burn. He looked at his Alliance rune for a moment, when he realized what the pain could mean, and swiftly doubled his speed to get to Alec, who had doubled over and fallen to his knees just twenty feet shy of Valentine.

But a demon leaped in front of Magnus, and Alec was lost from his view.

The smile on Valentine’s face widened as he advanced on Alec. “I recognize that feeling. Somewhere out there, the son I raised is dying. You can feel it, can’t you? The pain of your parabatai starting to leave this world?”

“Don’t you talk about Jace.” Alec said through gritted teeth, swinging his seraph blade up to block Valentine’s swing of the Soul Sword. “Or parabatai. You dishonour everything there is about being a Shadowhunter. You’re who the Angel hates. Not me, not any of the people fighting with me today. The Angel does not believe in what you want to force him to do. And if you do force him - do you really want to live with Heaven’s wrath for the rest of your days?”

“If it eliminates demon-blooded creatures like you, gladly. I don’t take pleasure in being the great destroyer, but that is what fate has handed to me.” Valentine threw the Cup at the Lake, and it broke the surface, the Lake pulsing gold as it was swallowed up. “I must embrace it.”

The demon in front of Magnus disintegrated, in time for Magnus to see three things:

First, Valentine throwing the Soul Sword into the already golden Lake.

Second, the Angel flaring into bright golden existence above the surface of the Lake.

Third, Valentine driving a seraph blade through Alec’s gut.

“NO!” Magnus yelled with fury as he felt pain lance through his binding rune, unleashing an angry fire-hold that bound Valentine and threw him away from the Lake, headfirst into a tree at the edge of the forest.

Magnus scrambled across the beach to Alec’s side, pushing magic frantically into the gaping wound.

“Alexander, my Alexander, please…” Magnus whispered. “I love you. Please, please come back to me.”

Magnus felt someone drop to the ground next to him, and a bloodied hand slipped into one of his. Magnus looked over to see a blood and tear-stained Maryse.

“All the strength you need to save him, take it.” Maryse whispered. “Please.”

Magnus nodded, almost painfully squeezing Maryse’s hand as he drew on her energy to help heal Alec.

He was starting to feel faint, unable to maintain the fire-hold on Valentine and heal Alec at the same time, even when he felt two more people join hands to Maryse to increase his strength. Keeping his hand where it was, pouring magic into Alec, Magnus looked up to see if Valentine had awoken.

Valentine was back on his feet, but held in place by the fire-hold. He sneered in Magnus’ direction. “Maybe I won’t get my wish, but at least I’ve eliminated that disgusting half-breed.”

“Alec’s resilient and has many who love him. He'll survive. You won't.” Luke growled, appearing behind Valentine in human form, grabbing Valentine by the head and pulling his blade across the man’s neck.

Valentine’s eyes widened but the fire-hold held him strong so he couldn’t move his arms, and more blood spurted from the wound. Luke held tight to Valentine, and stabbed him in the neck again and again, until eventually the bigger man was limp on top of him, Luke breathing heavily as his eyes turned green, warning of an impending change, until they flickered back to brown.

As Valentine’s heart stopped, Magnus’ magic leapt back to him, throwing him back violently. He lost his grip on Maryse, and tumbled backward into the Lake, falling onto a sharp piece of rock, which scored his hand, making him hiss.

The Angel, who had retreated as he watched the confrontation, flared back to full glory, though Magnus had the feeling that his voice was resounding only in his own head.

“Angel-touched one.” Came Raziel’s voice. “Though many have tried, it is your blood sacrifice that can compel me to one wish.”

Magnus looked towards Alec, lying on the shore, breaths shallow but visible.

“Do not worry about Alexander Gideon Lightwood.” The Angel said. “He will live. And even if he didn’t, you know the dangers. Choose wisely, angel-touched one. The wish is yours.”

“I…” Magnus was at a loss. He ran through the different ideas in his head, knowing all of the different ways that different wishes could have consequences. Until he finally, finally, arrived at one that he thought he could live with, that could only do good in the face of the evil in the world.

“I wish… I wish that Alexander and I can provide safety and security for any Shadowhunter or Downworlder who seeks it under our protection. That such protection, safety and security can be ours to grant, to any who need it.”

Magnus thought he saw the Angel nod, and with that, retreat into itself, until the lake was still and dark again.

The battle still raged around them, for while their leader was dead, the Circle members still fought, and the stench of demons was still in the air. As Magnus pulled himself out of the Lake, he saw the Cup and the Sword bob up out of the water next to him.

The Cup could control demons.

Magnus picked up the Cup, and felt the surge of power run through him. He suppressed how good it felt, how freeing, just to execute one command: _Demons, be gone._

The stench vanished, and Magnus dropped the Cup onto the shore, pulling the Sword out of the water and dropping it next to the other Mortal Instrument, turning his attention back to Alec.

“Alexander, Alexander.” He whispered, running his hand over the wound in Alec’s stomach, focusing his magic back into it. “Come on, Alexander. Please.” Alec’s face was slack, and his skin was clammy, and Magnus hoped desperately that what the Angel said was true and that Alec would be all right.

Maryse slipped her hand back into Magnus’, and Magnus now registered Aline and Isabelle on Maryse’s other side, and he drew power from all three of the women, focusing his now undivided attention into Alec’s wound. The wound began to heal over, the bleeding stopped, and then Alec’s eyes fluttered open.

“Magnus.” Alec croaked. “You’re all right.”

“Of course I am, Shadowhunter.” Magnus said fondly, dropping Maryse’s hand and running his over Alec’s cheek. “I’m right here.”

“I saw you go into the water.” Alec said faintly. “I thought… I thought Valentine had killed you.”

“No. Luke killed him. It’s over.”

“But the Angel…”

“Valentine didn’t get the wish. It’s all right, Alexander. You have to rest. It took four people to heal you.” Magnus looked up at Maryse, Aline and Isabelle and nodded his thanks. They smiled back at him.

“Jace.” Alec tried sitting up, wincing as his hand skimmed over his healed wound and over to his parabatai rune. “He’s injured. I don’t know how bad.”

“I’ll be all right.” Came Jace’s voice.

Alec and Magnus and the others looked up to see an injured but smiling Jace, supported by both Simon and Clary, stagger onto the beach. He dropped onto the ground next to Alec, and the parabatai embraced.

“What did that to you?” Alec asked as he pulled back from the hug. “I felt it. Just as I was confronting Valentine. You could have had better timing.”

Simon answered the question. “A demon the size of a semi decided to sit on me. I would have been _fine_ \- it’s not like I have to breathe - but these two just couldn’t let it go.”

“Clary didn’t watch her six and got attacked by a Shax demon.” Jace continued. “I incinerated it, but she needed access to Simon’s vampire healing, and fast, so I had to kill the huge one - it might be a new one for the database, I’ve never seen it before - but it got me with its tail before it died.”

Luke walked up to the group on the beach. “Looks like the other warlocks are rounding up the last Circle members. We’ve won. Valentine didn’t get his wish. And the Angel’s gone too.”

“What happened there with the Angel, Magnus?” Isabelle asked. “He flared up into a big fiery angel, and then he vanished, right while you were there in the water.”

“I… the Angel gave me the wish. I cut my hand under the water, and that was the blood sacrifice that the Angel needed to grant the wish.”

“What did you wish for?” Clary asked, picking up the Cup, while Isabelle got a handle on the Sword.

“Ahh, as with many things, biscuit, one can’t tell, otherwise it might not come true.”

“Wishes can have catches.” Jace cautioned. “There are always consequences, even with angels.”

“Then let’s hope that they are happy consequences.” Magnus said, as Alec reached up, cupping the back of Magnus’ head, pulling him in for a kiss.

Magnus was certain that if the Angel fulfilled his promise, he and Alexander would have a long and happy life together. There could be no bad consequences to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ding dong, Valentine's dead! But we're not finished yet, there's still the Clave to deal with, and Magnus and Alec need to have an important conversation. All coming on the weekend ;)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec and Magnus deal with the fallout of the battle, and strengthen their promises to each other to always be honest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've made it! Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me through this epic journey in this series. When I wrote that short one-shot of Alec vs the Seelie Queen back in July, I never thought it would spin into this entire canon-divergent world, but I'm so so glad it did.
> 
> Now, this particular story and series may be over, but this 'verse isn't - I've been dropping hints for several stories in this series that there will be a sequel, and it will be coming soon! Stay tuned to the end notes for more details ;)

Magnus helped Alec get to his feet and they both surveyed the area around the Lake. Slowly all of the fighters, Shadowhunter and Downworlder alike, were making their way onto the beach. On the edge of the forest, Adalina and Bian Minh were coralling the Circle members that the other warlocks brought to them in chains.

Alec looked around, doing a head count, looking for all of the people who had worked on the Lake warding, knowing that at least two had died. Helen and Aline were reuniting joyfully, and a bit further on, Mark had his arm slung around his brother Julian’s shoulders, the younger boy looking somewhat dazed, this probably having been his first full-on battle. Lydia appeared to be likewise reassuring Emma Carstairs as the girl looked around for her parents.

Alec saw the battered and bloodied remnants of the burlap sack not far away from where they stood, and he remembered. He couldn’t see the heads that had been within - likely crushed underfoot by the demons that had swarmed them, or kicked into the Lake or the forest - and his heart clenched painfully as he thought of how he was going to break the news to his family.

“Alexander.” Magnus said softly. “What is it?”

“I… before you all got here, Valentine…” Alec squeezed Magnus’ hand, but turned to Maryse and Isabelle. “I - Mom. Izzy. I have to tell you something.”

“What is it?” Isabelle asked. “We’ve won.”

“Y-yeah. But not without casualties. And - more than you know. More than just what you saw during the battle.”

“Alec…” Maryse said. “What do you know?”

Alec swallowed hard. “Dad. Dad’s dead.”

“How do you know that?” Isabelle asked. “Was he here? Did you see him go down?”

“I didn’t see him fight, no. But before you all got here -” Alec picked up the empty burlap sack. “Valentine threw this at me. It opened, and - heads rolled out of it. Including Dad’s. Valentine said that once Alicante learned that we were meeting tonight, that a group who didn’t believe the Clave’s lies about me came to fight with us. But the Circle slaughtered them before we got here. I - I don’t know who else may have been part of the group but the bodies -” Alec swallowed hard again. “The bodies must be somewhere in the forest not far from here. We’ll have to find them, give them the proper rites -”

Isabelle rested her head against Alec’s shoulder. “We will. This isn’t your fault, Alec. They made the choice to fight. And - and Dad supported you, in the end. _Ave atque vale._ ”

All of the surrounding company also whispered the Shadowhunter words of farewell, even Magnus, Luke and Simon. They were silent until Adalina came up to Alec, swiping her bloodied hair out of her face.

“The surviving Circle members have all been apprehended.” She said. “I’ll leave it in your hands to decide what to do with them.”

“Thank you” Alec nodded. “Do you - have you seen what losses the warlocks took in the battle?”

“Vyacheslav Yugov is dead.” Adalina said. “Can’t say I’m sorry to see him go.” Magnus nodded his agreement. “According to Agostinho, Vyacheslav decided it would be a good idea to berate a Surgat demon on its fighting technique, right before it knocked his head off.”

“Any others?” Magnus asked. “I saw the Lake pulse twice, and that would mean that two of the participants in the warding died.”

“Max! Where’s Max?” Isabelle cried out. “Are we sure he didn’t sneak through the Portal with us?”

“We’re sure.” Clary reassured her. “I locked him in his room with a special rune. He wasn’t getting out, trust me.”

Unconvinced, Isabelle still looked to Adalina. Adalina nodded somberly. “Yes, it was another warlock who worked with us. Caitlin Bray, High Warlock of Dublin.”

Isabelle bowed her head. “ _Ave atque_ \- can we say that for warlocks? Is that okay, or do you have something else that you say when one of your own has died?”

“It’s the gesture that counts, Isabelle.” Magnus said, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you.”

Maia and a number of other werewolves emerged from the forest, making straight for Alec.

“Alec - I - there’s a pile of bodies in the forest. Looks like they died before the battle. Shadowhunters. With no heads.” She shuddered.

Alec looked at Isabelle and Maryse. “Well, that answers that question. Mom, do you think -”

“Simon and I will go with her.” Luke said quickly. “Maia, you and the other wolves too. Help us bring the bodies here.”

Maryse nodded wordlessly and followed Simon and the wolves into the forest. 

Alec looked at the Mortal Cup and Soul Sword, which Clary and Isabelle were still holding. “We’ll have to figure out what to do with those.” He thought out loud. “I want them where we can keep an eye on them. We are not giving them back to the Clave.”

Isabelle looked up, towards the treeline. “My Alliance rune is still working. I hear hoofbeats.” She looked at Alec. “It’s got to be the Clave.”

“Clary, take the Mortal Instruments back to New York. Now. Get them out of sight under every unique locking and hiding rune you’ve got.”

Clary nodded quickly, sketching a Portal rune into the air. Once the Portal was active, Isabelle handed her the Soul Sword and the redhead disappeared through the Portal only seconds before the cavalry from Idris emerged from the forest onto the beach, Inquisitor riding in the lead. She hopped off her horse and strode towards Alec.

“Alexander Lightwood, I know our sacred Clave traditions have no meaning to you, but now you’ve really crossed a line, consorting with Valentine at a place that is expressly forbidden to Shadowhunters.”

“Have you ever wondered why that prohibition exists, Inquisitor?” Alec asked, voice ringing out clearly across the beach and surrounding forest.

“I haven’t needed to. I follow orders.”

“Lake Lyn was the third Mortal Instrument.” Alec said, hearing gasps of shock reverberate throughout the ranks of the Shadowhunters who had accompanied the Inquisitor, as they dismounted and moved to join her. “Valentine was coming here to summon the Angel. Which he did. But thankfully he was not able to use the wish, and thus the Downworld survives. Instead Valentine is dead, and most of his followers with him. That’s what we were doing here. Stopping Valentine. Like we said we would. Any story that we were working with Valentine is Clave lies.”

“I suppose congratulations are in order then, Mr Lightwood.” Alec sensed a change in the Inquisitor’s demeanour, but he wasn’t going to let her retreat and save face, as if this was her plan all along, and then try to draw him back into the Clave. That ship had long since sailed. Now he had a job to do.

“I wasn’t the one who killed him. That credit belongs to Luke Garroway, formerly Lucian Graymark, and formerly Valentine’s parabatai. It was the Downworld who saved us all, not Shadowhunters.”

“Do you have a point, Mr Lightwood?”

“I do. I will take this opportunity to declare the formal independence of the New York Institute from the Clave.”

“You can’t do that.” The Inquisitor said.

“You’ll find that I can and I will. The Clave is not a friend to Downworlders, it never has been. But I intend to make my Institute and those Institutes allied with it - for we are not alone - places where all can find refuge and safety, outside of the archaic rules of the Clave. Any Shadowhunter who believes in peace and friendship with the Downworld is welcome to join us. Any Shadowhunter who has been cast out of their family or Institute for one reason or another, our doors are open to you if you seek a better way forward.”

“Mr Lightwood, you are speaking treason.”

Magnus’ hand tightened its grip on Alec, but Alec squeezed back lightly, reassuringly.

“Take me to the City of Bones. Give me another one of your trials. I’m not afraid, because I’ve spoken to the Angel, the Angel has spoken to me, and I know what he truly wants from us as his children.”

“Don’t call yourself a child of the Angel.” The man on the left side of the Inquisitor sneered. “Your blood is tainted.”

“Take me to the City of Bones.” Alec repeated. “I will prove to you whatever you want me to prove. And then after that, we will go our separate ways, and you won’t interfere.”

“Are you really going to start another war, this soon after we have defeated Valentine?” The Inquisitor asked.

“We.” Alec scoffed. “We didn’t defeat Valentine. You didn’t do anything but pit Shadowhunter against Downworlder, when it was the Downworld that saved the day. No. You don’t get to take any credit for Valentine’s demise.”

“Inquisitor.” Said the dark-haired woman on her right. Alec recognized her as Jia Penhallow, Aline’s mother. She must have been chosen as the new Consul after all. “I recommend we do as he says. You can’t let your personal feelings on the matter interfere, or I will remove you from your office. Let the Silent Brothers administer a trial.”

_That won’t be necessary._ Brother Zachariah’s voice boomed in everyone’s heads. _Alexander Gideon Lightwood has done no wrong, nor have the Shadowhunters who follow him._

“He declared the independence of the New York Institute. That is treason against the Clave. Administer another trial.”

_It may be treason against the Clave, but it is not treason against the Angel._

“They are the same thing.”

_No they are not, and you would do well to remember that, Inquisitor Imogen Whitelaw Herondale. The Angel’s Law and the Clave’s law are very different, and you might be shocked at just how different they are. We all must choose a time when we choose to follow the Angel or follow the Clave, and now the time has come to follow the Angel, since he has spoken to his Nephilim quite recently._

“The Angel does not speak to us.”

_You deny the visions that Alexander Gideon Lightwood experienced during the trial of Hemarton?_

“We have only his word for it. He made a lucky guess, about the Circle members that were unmasked.”

_You may have only his word for it. We in the City of Bones have much more. No, we will not administer any sort of trial for Alexander Gideon Lightwood._

“We’ll hold you for treason as well.”

_The Silent Brothers exist separate from the Clave for a reason. We are not under your authority. And know this: If you punish Alexander Gideon Lightwood in any way, if you try to remove him from his independent authority as the leader of the New York Institute, the Clave will lose any assistance of the Silent Brothers. That is our decision._

“You can’t do that.”

_Yes, we can. The Clave has gone astray, Inquisitor. It is time for a new era of Shadowhunters, and that new era will be under Alexander Gideon Lightwood’s leadership, not the Clave’s. The Clave’s absolute authority has ended._

“Imogen…” Jia said softly. “The Silent Brothers are the wisest Shadowhunters there are. Perhaps you should listen to them.”

“Is this what your plan was all along, Jia? To humiliate me? I warned the Council about you. I warned them that your daughter had already joined up with this - this half-breed - and that you would be biased. But they still chose you.”

“Because they want peace, not more war. They saw what you could not. If Shadowhunters are leaving the Clave, it isn’t because they’ve done something wrong, it is because _we_ have. Let those who wish to leave do so. Because if we have failed our own, it means that we need to fix what is broken if we wish to continue to exist.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am. I cannot in good conscience disobey the recommendations of the Silent Brothers. And I definitely do not want to lose the possibility of their aid should the Clave require it.”

_A wise decision, Jia Ke Penhallow._ Brother Zachariah said.

Jia turned to Alec. “Under the authority of my power as the Consul, I release you, Alexander Gideon Lightwood, and the New York Institute, from the authority of the Clave. Are there any other Heads of Institutes present who would also like to declare their independence?”

Andrew Blackthorn stepped out of the crowd by the lake, clearly favouring his left leg, but still mobile. “I do. Andrew Blackthorn, Head of the Los Angeles Institute.”

More followed him. The Heads of the other nine Institutes that fought with them against Valentine all stepped up to declare their independence as well. There were murmurs up and down the ranks of the Shadowhunters standing behind the Inquisitor and the Consul, but none of them stepped forward.

When no more Heads came forward, Jia stepped into the space that divided them, and Alec stepped up to face her.

“Go in peace.” Jia said softly. “Keep to your sacred duty of protecting the world from demons. As long as we can agree on that, there should be no quarrel between us.”

Alec nodded. “I agree. Thank you.”

“Know that you and your people are welcome in Idris. This is the Shadowhunter homeland. It belongs to all of us. There may be occasions where we need to work together for a common purpose, if there is something that threatens us all. And I hope that I can also visit your Institutes, for I would very much like to see my daughter again.”

“Of course.” Alec said. “We have no interest in breaking families apart. I understand your reasons for staying as much as you understand my reasons for leaving.”

Jia nodded. “Thank you.”

Alec and Jia shook hands, and Jia stepped back, motioning her Shadowhunters to mount up and return to Alicante. The Inquisitor clearly didn’t want to leave, still looking at Alec with seething hatred, and it took some firm words from Jia before she finally stepped back and mounted her horse.

Alec was certain that it wouldn’t be the last he’d ever hear from Inquisitor Imogen Herondale. But if what had been said was true, that the Council had supported Jia because they really did want peace instead of the continued war that the Inquisitor was pushing for, then it was possible that real peace could exist.

The thought made him smile as he turned back to face his Shadowhunters. _His_ Shadowhunters. They were on their own now, and his mind swam with all of the things that would need to be done, the formalities, the guiding principles, everything.

But that could all wait until tomorrow. Now was a time for them to mourn their dead and celebrate their victory. The details could wait.

“It’s done.” Alec said to all assembled. “We’re independent of the Clave. Now let’s take some time to gather and mourn our dead. We can burn the bodies right here, and I can arrange for the delivery of ashes to the Silent City.”

_There will be no need for that, Alexander Gideon Lightwood. We will take them back with us when we depart._

Alec looked back over his shoulder to see that Brother Zachariah and several other Silent Brothers remained. He nodded. “Okay. Let’s get set up.”

Maryse, Simon and the wolves brought the bodies of the Shadowhunters who had died before the start of the battle, arranging them on the pyres that the others built on the edge of the Lake. Six more Shadowhunter dead, as well as three wolves, were also added to the funeral pyres. The warlocks made different arrangements for their dead, sending the bodies to the Spiral Labyrinth for preparations. The four vampire dead had no bodies to bury or burn.

The dead of the Circle were not added to the funeral pyres. Brother Zachariah told Alec that he would arrange for their burial at the crossroads leading to Alicante, where all disgraced Shadowhunters were buried. The surviving Circle members would be taken to the deepest cells beneath the Silent City.

Before the funeral ceremony got under way, Clary returned to the Lake with Max, and all of the Lightwoods, including Jace, stood next to Robert Lightwood for his last rites. It weighed on Alec, that he’d never had the chance to reconcile with his father, after being so angry that he’d chosen the Clave over his family. But now, standing next to his funeral pyre, Alec forgave him for all of the bad blood that had been between them over the past months.

“ _Ave atque vale_ , Dad.” Alec whispered as he lit the pyre and he and his family stepped back. “Hail and farewell.”

Once the funeral rites were completed, everyone looked to him once more. Even after being Head of the New York Institute for weeks, Alec still wasn’t used to it. Where before he had been leading an Institute full of Shadowhunters who for the most part disagreed with him on everything, now the people watching him wanted to hear what he said. Wanted to know what plans he made.

But right now, he was too tired to deal with any of it. It had been a long day, and long weeks before that. He just wanted to rest.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done tonight.” Alec said. “Downworlders, especially you, you made everything that happened tonight possible. Thank you for your trust and your participation. In the coming days and weeks, we’ll start the formal creation of our new Shadowhunter organization, and your participation will be most welcomed as we do that. But for tonight, everyone, Shadowhunter and Downworlder alike - go home. Back to your cities and Institutes and the day after tomorrow, we’ll start building our future. Take tonight and tomorrow to rest and reflect and even celebrate what we’ve accomplished here today. It hasn’t been easy and it won’t be easy going forward, but if we work together, we will create a better world, I promise you that. Thank you.”

Alec finished speaking, and exhaustion began to set in to his bones. Magnus was by his side in an instant.

“Come on.” Magnus said quietly. “Let’s go home.”

* * *

Isabelle and Jace promised to handle any concerns at the Institute that night, which left Alec able to Portal directly home with Magnus.

“We should get you to bed.” Magnus said. “You still need to recover from your injury.”

“In a minute.” Alec mumbled against Magnus’ shoulder. “I - we need to talk first. It’s important.”

Magnus was instantly on alert. “What is it, Alexander?”

“I wanted to talk about the Seelie Queen. What I promised her. Now that the battle’s over and she came through on her part of it - I don’t want any secrets. Please.”

Magnus nodded. “And I’ll tell you what my wish to the Angel was. I didn’t want to tell everyone, they don’t need to know the particulars, but - but you should.”

They settled onto the couch, hands clasped between them.

Alec took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. “It scares me. What I promised her. Just - I was desperate. I wanted to have that surety, that even if Valentine got to the Lake, that he wouldn’t be able to make that blood sacrifice.”

“I understand, Alexander. And I understand why you didn’t say anything until now. She has her spies everywhere, but now that her end of the bargain is done, you don’t need to worry anymore.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Alec said ominously. “I don’t know when my part of the bargain will strike. It could be tomorrow, it could be months or years from now. I just don’t _know_ , and that terrifies me.”

“We’ll deal with it together, whatever it is.”

“I - she said there’s a boy under the protection of one of the Shadow Markets that she can’t get to. That he has something he doesn’t understand the value of. She said that one day he’ll come to me for that protection instead, and when he does, I need to give that thing - whatever it is - to her. Otherwise he and everyone around him will die.”

Magnus gasped, perhaps a bit _too_ sharply, and Alec felt Magnus’ hand squeeze his just a bit tighter.

“What’s wrong?” Alec asked. “I know that has too many variables, who knows what this thing that the Seelie Queen wants is - how dangerous it could be in her hands - but that’s all she wanted. I had to take that deal.”

“I’m not doubting that, Alexander. It’s just - that phrasing. That specific phrasing.”

“What phrasing?”

“My wish to the Angel.” Magnus said. “I wished for something that sounded safe. I know wishes can have catches, which is why I wished for what seemed like the simplest and most benign wish ever - I wished that you and I could provide safety and security for any Shadowhunter or Downworlder who seeks it under our protection. That such protection, safety and security would be ours to grant to any who needed it.”

Alec whistled. “And there’s the catch. I’m sorry - I should have found a way to tell you what she asked for before, I should have -”

“It’s not your fault, Alexander. It isn’t. Because regardless of what the wish was, or what the Seelie Queen asked for, doing exactly that - providing a safe place for anyone in the Shadow World - was something that we were going to do anyway. Isn’t it?”

“Yeah. It is.”

“So let’s not spend our days creating scenarios of what could happen. Of what this could all be about. We don’t know, we _can’t_ know. Not until it happens. And when it does, we can figure out what to do. For all we know, it could be some powerful Faerie artifact that is of no use or threat to us.”

“Somehow I doubt that. We know her games. It’ll be something she’ll want to use against _us_.”

“Then we find a way to neutralize it and not let that happen. The Seelie Queen has tried to break us before. But together we’re stronger than she can ever hope to be. So promise me. Promise that you won’t dwell on this. Promise me that you’ll stay in the present with me and not worry about what could happen in the future.”

Alec rested his forehead against Magnus’. “I promise.”

“Good.” Magnus kissed Alec gently. “Now let’s get some rest.”

* * *

The Seelie Queen walked through the Wander Woods, directly to where her prisoner was. After all, the Wander Woods obeyed _her_ commands. But for a non-Seelie, they spelled eternal trouble, until such a time that she chose to let them out.

This one wouldn’t be getting out for quite a long time, no matter how much he screamed for it.

“Your screaming is getting quite tiring.”

“Let me out then.”

“I can’t do that. I might need you in the future, and you are far too impulsive for my liking.”

“My mother will rain Hell down upon you for this. She won’t stand for it.”

The Seelie Queen smiled. “I’m afraid you cannot rely on your mother anymore. She is a lot more interested in someone else. She used to have high hopes for you. Now, you’d just ruin things.”

“Who is she interested in? Tell me!”

“Why, Alexander Lightwood, of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who *is* the Seelie Queen talking to? Hmmmm.....
> 
> In the coming weeks we'll be diving into that, as well as the other hints that I've left along the way (starting several months ago, so you may need to reread to find some of them ;)).
> 
> Now, some AO3 housekeeping: This series that you've just read has been called "We Built A Dynasty Like Nothing Ever Made". However, shortly I will be creating a new title for it called "Gonna Need A Spark To Ignite", and the first series title is going to become the name for the overarching saga that both this series and the new series are going to be a part of. So if you're already subscribed to "We Built A Dynasty Like Nothing Ever Made", you probably won't need to do anything new to start receiving updates on the new series, which will be called... "All The Ashes In My Wake". Now I'll leave you to ponder that title, and soon I'll start posting the first story in it ;)
> 
> Thanks again for sticking with me through this whole saga! You're all wonderful <3


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